A leader and a manager are not necessarily the same thing. A leader motivates people to perform at their maximum capacity, while a manager monitors schedules, maintains departmental paperwork and resolves disputes. When you understand leadership's influence on an organization, you begin to appreciate the need for leaders and managers in your organization.

Vision

A leader supplies a vision for employees to use as motivation for achieving goals. The vision can be as limited as accomplishing monthly sales goals to being as comprehensive as expanding to include international locations within a predetermined time period. The leader is the one who presents the benefits and challenges of achieving company goals, and inspires the staff to work toward visions of future success.

Emergency Response

A company's ability to respond to immediate changes in the marketplace or a crisis within the company itself can determine the future success of the organization. A leader is a facilitator who analyzes a situation and then determines a prudent course of action based on available resources. The inspirational factor of a good leader is essential in an emergency response because the staff members must have confidence in the leader's abilities to execute an emergency plan. For example, if one of your products becomes associated with consumer injury, a leader steps in and assesses the situation while developing a quick plan of action. The same can be said about the response to a fire or other crisis in the office. The emergency response of the staff depends on the abilities of the leader.

Team Building

A good leader knows that she cannot accomplish company objectives on her own. The proactive leader uses team-building methods to help create efficient work groups that will work together to achieve company goals. Over time, the leader begins to make team building a part of the company culture. The cooperative atmosphere of the organization helps to improve efficiency and morale.

Employee Skill Development

One of the ways a leader helps a group become productive is by empowering employees to make their own daily operational decisions. The leader offers guidance to employees on how to make better job decisions, and helps in the process of employee skill development. The delegation of responsibility and the emphasis on good communication are two leadership qualities that help develop employee skill sets. Employees are given new responsibilities that challenge them to develop new skills, and a strong communication network gets the employees the information and resources they need to learn.

About the Author

George N. Root III began writing professionally in 1985. His publishing credits include a weekly column in the "Lockport Union Sun and Journal" along with the "Spectrum," the "Niagara Falls Gazette," "Tonawanda News," "Watertown Daily News" and the "Buffalo News." Root has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the State University of New York, Buffalo.